Reproduction of bee colonies
Natural swarming of bees.
In natural conditions, the increase in the number of families occurs by digestion. Swarming is a manifestation of the instinct of reproduction of a bee family.
The swarming is as follows. At the end of spring or summer, under appropriate conditions, a part of the bees with one (old) or several (young) uterus is separated from the family preparing for the swarming. The separated part, having settled in a suitable place, can exist just like a family, from which a part has separated. This way of reproduction of bee colonies was called swarming, and the separated part of the family is called a swarm.
Observations show that in order for the bees to swarm, a whole set of conditions is necessary, namely: a large number of worker bees in the family, an excess of bees-wet-nurses, warm, good weather, a small bribe, an increasing tightness in the hive, etc.
All this, taken together, creates a swarm of bees for the bees. The absence of one or several of these conditions removes or hinders the manifestation of the instinct of swarming.
The swarm condition is especially intensified at a time when hive bees are unloaded and, especially, when there is a discrepancy between the number of larvae and the number of young bees-nurses. This is for the following reason. Since the spring, the uterus gradually increases the egg laying. Therefore, every day the output of young bees-nurses increases. These bees-nurses will be fully engaged in feeding the larvae, while the uterus increases the laying of eggs.
In the end, the egg-laying, in the concrete conditions of this nest, reaches its maximum. After this, if the beekeeper does not take special measures, the masonry begins to gradually decline, but the number of bees-nurses for a long time does not decrease, but on the contrary, increases.
Thus, a discrepancy is created: the nursing bees become much larger,
In most parts of our country, swarming coincides with the onset of the main bribe.
Preparing the bees for swarming. In late April or early May, bees are already taken for detaching honeycomb with drone cells and for rearing the tartar brood, and also building bowls – the bases for future queen cells.
After a while after that on the honeycombs begin to appear and queen cells, which are usually laid from several pieces to several tens. The family of southern bees, for example, Kuban, lays sometimes up to 300 queen cells.
The appearance of a large number of tartar brood, and especially seeding in mishochki and queen cells, is a sure sign of the preparation of bees for swarming. In this case, the uterus usually does not sow the eggs immediately with all the bees prepared by the bees. She lays eggs at regular intervals, and therefore the maturation of the queens is not simultaneous and their release lasts several days.
Preparations for swarming are influenced by: weather conditions in the spring and summer, the presence of a bribe, the strength of the family, the warmth of the nest, the quality of the uterus, the individual properties of the family, etc. So, for example, with a sudden stoppage of a bribe, swarming is suspended. Similarly, swarming stops and when a bribe comes: a bee is loaded with processing of nectar.
The release of swarms. In Ukraine swarming begins mainly from the second half of May.
When the uterine larvae reach full development in the family preparing for swarming, the bees reduce the feeding of the uterus. From this it is made lighter and more mobile. In addition, the bees themselves are less intense in the field, so it is especially undesirable that the swarming takes place during the bribe.
In most cases, on the second or third day after sealing the first queen cell, a swarm will fly out.
The swarming occurs as follows: on a quiet, clear day, a significant part of the bees, who until then were sitting in groups at the ends of the honeycombs, are crammed with honey and, having stored them for three days, are rapidly fleeing the hive. At the same time, it seems to the observer that the bees are pouring from the tap, like from a bag. They are excitedly, with some special characteristic rumble, go up and, swirling over the hive, move further and further away from it.
The first beehives are bees, not the uterus. The uterus comes out usually when most or half of the swarm bees have already left their home. She usually runs to the edge of the flight board and then rises into the air. After a few minutes, the swarms of bees that emerged by swarming sit down in the form of a club on some shaded object, for example, on a tree branch, which is a place for gathering all the bees out of the beehive around the uterus.
If the beekeeper has time to approach the swarming family, then he can easily catch the outgoing uterus. In this case, the collection of the swarm is simplified. Once the trapped uterus has been placed (in a cage) in a loaf suspended in the place where the swarm is inoculated, or into a prepared new hive and put it in the place of the swarming one, and the latter is pushed back like the released swarm bees, without finding the uterus in the air, they will return back and gather near your uterus.
If the uterus for some reason does not fly out of the hive or fall into the grass and get lost, then the bees spend a long time in the air, accumulating in one or another place. Many of them start to sit on the branches, but do not go to the club and soon return to their hive.
The swarm that has been given remains in this state sometimes for a short time, 5-10 minutes, and sometimes sits long, for several hours. If at this time the beekeeper does not collect the swarm, then it is removed and a dense “cloud” quickly flies away, often for 5 or more kilometers to settle in a new, previously explored bees dwelling.
Swarms differ in time of release. The first swarm comes out with an old uterus and is called pervak. In the “old man”, that is, in the family, from which the swarm separated, in about 6-7 days the first young womb emerges from the mother liquor.
The young womb is not calm. She runs around the honeycombs. At times he stops and, pressing his wings to the body, begins to make sounds. The uterus, not yet emerging from the queen cells, responds to it. “Singing” or “roll call” of the queens foreshadows that a swarm can be released. If the bees have come out of the swarm state, then they not only enable the out-going uterus to kill other queens in the queen cells, but they themselves help in this.
Conversely, if the bees continue to be in the swarm state, then they do not admit the uterus to the queen cells. In this case, if the beekeeper does not take the appropriate measures, then a part of the bees with the young uterus, after several days after it leaves the mother cell, flies out of the hive with a second swarm in favorable weather.
Such a swarm is called a vtoraka or a friend. He often comes out on the 9th day after the first day.
During the hustle in the hive, when the swarm leaves, some young uterus emerge from the queen cells and join the swarm, and therefore in the second and subsequent swarms there are often several young queens.
In the second, like in a glove, there are many young and less old bees, but there is more drones in the vtoreq. They tend to go where there are barren uterus.
After two or three days, the third swarm, the tretyakov, etc., may emerge.
If the family is swept away by the fever fever, then such a family lets go of the swarms until it finally becomes weaker, it does not erupt. In this case, each subsequent swarm contains fewer and fewer bees.
It goes without saying that one should not allow bees to go to Israel. Weak swarms and izroivshiesya “old people” will not gather their fodder reserves and without the help of a beekeeper can die.
The first swarm comes out with the old uterus in most cases after the first mother liquor is sealed. Consequently, there are no young queens at that time, and therefore before the release of the first swarm there is no singing of queens.
But it also happens that the old uterus dies after the queen cells were laid. In this case, upon the release of the first young womb, the singing of the queens will begin and then the first swarm will leave. Such a swarm is called a singing pervak. It differs from the real theme. that before its exit the uterus is singing, and secondly, such a swarm is not old, but several young barren uterus.
The same will happen when bad weather detains the output of the pervak before the appearance of young queens. In this case, the young womb at a meeting with the old one can kill her, and then the singing pervak with the young uterus will come out.
Singing pervaks are often the earliest swarms and come out mainly when the bees themselves change their queens.
Sometimes, with very favorable conditions for the swarming of bees, it happens that the early swarm of pervak, after being built up and significantly multiplying, begins to let go of the swarms in the same way that the main family released them, that is, the first person comes out, then the second one, and so on. Such swarms are called poros.
A family with a uterus that was born and fertilized this summer does not have a great propensity for swarming, and usually such families do not swarm. Only in rare cases, mainly in places with a good and long bribe, can swarm families and such uterus.
Inoculation, or subsidence of swarms. Swarms with an old uterus settle usually soon, amicably and low, close to their hive, because the old uterus is heavy for summer.
On the contrary, swarms with young uterus, which sometimes happens several times, are often “rebelled”, that is, they scatter and wander one way or the other. The bees try to crouch here and there, and finally settle in one or more piles. Such swarms often sit very high and far from their hive. Sometimes they do not get vaccinated at all and quickly fly off somewhere from the apiary.
Usually bees of a swarming family find a suitable place in advance, for example a hollow of a tree, and the swarm flies directly to the chosen dwelling. But in some cases, they wander for a long time, weaken and sit down anywhere, sometimes – just on the grass, on a strange hive, etc. There was a case that the swarm sat down even on a passing cart.
Swarms of pervak leaves mainly in hours of loss of bees, from 10 to 3 o’clock in the afternoon, moreover on warm sunny days, since swarms with old uterus are more legible to the weather.
On the contrary, swarms with young uterus (vtoraki, tretyaki, etc.) are not so legible, they also go out under less favorable weather. These swarms can go out from 8 am to 4 pm.
After rainy days, as soon as the sun warms, swarms immediately begin to fly out in a friendly manner.
It happens that the apiary covers the so-called “swallow fever”. Probably the roar of simultaneously released swarms also carries away those bees whose families do not yet have printed queen cells.
Large swarms may emerge from large apiaries simultaneously. Bees, whirling in the air, mix and settle in one huge swarm, or to a previously swarmed swarm, if it is not to be removed for a long time, another swarm may join.
At present, on most apiaries of Ukraine, the increase in the number of bee colonies is achieved mainly not due to natural swarming, but due to the so-called artificial swarming-the method of organization of layers, developed by scientists and advanced beekeepers of our country. However, not being the main one, natural swarming is used by many beekeepers, mainly where the apiaries are small and not adequately provided with honeycombs.
Therefore, we can not limit ourselves to studying only artificial swarming. It is necessary that the beekeeper fully possessed the methods of both natural and artificial swarming, and could use them with the best results, as applied to local conditions.
Consider the methods of working beekeepers using natural swarming of bee colonies.
Work in the apiary during the swarming of families.
Preparatory work. By the swarm time, the beekeeper has to prepare beehives for planting swarms, frames with artificial wax and dry. In addition, you need to have a long cord, pole and a ladder, if tall beetles grow in the apiary. Also, you need to prepare in advance and places for the installation of new hives.
On those large apiaries where natural swarming is allowed, hives with the necessary number of frames are pre-installed in places prepared for planting swarms, so that you do not have to deal with this matter in the days of the release of swarms.
To remove the swarm you need a square. It should be light, convenient for collecting bees and well ventilated. It is made from a bast or plywood in the form of a cylinder, covered with a cloth on top. The bottom of the rovney is made of a metal mesh.
To remove highly pricked swarms, a thin long pole with a hook at the end and some other accessories are required, of which a device like a net should be noted. It consists of a wire hoop and a bag of rare material attached to it. If you make a lid of the same fabric, stretched over a thin hoop, and attach it to the pole with a hook, and attach the lace to the lid to quickly close this net, then you get a pretty good retailer. With a lack of trees in the apiary, place the “graft” (the pole with a small plank attached to its end).
On the apiary it is good to have a reliable garden syringe for the fastest settling of swarms by sprinkling water from the bees.
Fig. Roevna Korableva.
Some beekeepers use the wings’ cutting (“bewildering”) of the queens in advance, which facilitates the work of collecting swarms. Such a queen on the way out of the hive is not able to rise into the air and can easily be caught by a beekeeper.
Taking off swarms.
Swarms are most often planted on a branch, less often on a tree trunk. To remove the swarm, the hour begins as soon as the bees gather in the club and calm down. This is done as follows: under the swarm, the drop is substituted by a short but sharp thrust along the branch, shaking off all the rice from it. Korablev’s net for removing bees. Then immediately turn the sidewalk sideways and with the help of a hook hang it right there on the branch near the place where the swarm was originally planted. 3 In such a case, the bees will remain in the bag and will be bored at the top.
The bees remaining outside the village will soon fly to her. If, with an unsuccessful shake of the swarm, many bees will rise in the air and start grafting in the same place, then you need to shake them off again from the branch. They will go to the noise of the bees in the rover.
Bees planted on the trunk of a tree are raked with a scoop or swept away with a brush or a wing. Sometimes the swarm strongly stretches along the trunk, in such a case sweep or rake 2-3 scoops of bees into the rova, and then, turning the rover upside down, place it on the trunk of the tree, above the swarm. After that they start to lightly adjust the bees from below upwards. They will soon all go to the village.
If the swarm was planted high, then it is necessary to climb up a tree and there to rake it, or to tie the rover to the pole and bring it to the swarm, and then shake off the bees. For this purpose, tie a string or a piece of brick to the string and toss it over the branch to be shaken.
You can attach a hook at the end of the pole to engage the branch when the swarm is shaken.
To remove swarms from tall trees, sometimes use special loaves with a lid, which can be raised or lowered using a lace. Shaking the bees at the rover, they immediately pull the string, and the quill closes. Roevna is left in place for a while, so that the rest of the bees settle on it.
It is not easy to collect a swarm that has been planted on the wattle: bees usually sit between the rods, and they can not be swept away from there. In this case, they resort to smoke, proceeding as mentioned above about collecting a swarm stretching along the trunk.
If a branch with bees is conveniently cut off, it is cut off and, carefully raised to the hive, shakes the bees into it.
When the bees are collected in the rover, you must carefully close it and take it to a cool place, for example a winter hut, or hang in the shade of a tree. Of course, each swarm should be weighed; it should also be noted from which hive he came out. Empty swarms must be weighed in advance and their weight marked on them.
Roy with the uterus quickly calms down and, being bored, sits quietly. On the contrary, swarms without queens do not sit quietly: bees run around, make noise and try to get out of the village.
Landing the swarm in the hive. For each kilogram of beehive bees, 2 frames are given and, in addition, two more frames are added to the whole swarm. A small size frame is given a little more. In general, one should not arrange a large nest, especially swarms with barren uteri: the bees are exhausted at departure, and new ones do not appear soon, which causes swarms in the first 20-25 days.
You should not plant swarms solely on an artificial wax, as it under the weight of bees stretches and sometimes even breaks.
If you give a lot of frames with artificial wax, then the bees will build them, but they will not finish building. It is necessary to give, approximately, half of frames with a land and as much with an artificial wax. Frames are put either alternately, or dry – the vredoinu, and the artificial wax – on the sides. The fetal uterus from the first day sows the framework with the land.
Early swarms are given more frames with artificial wax, rather than with dry land, and late – on the contrary. To swarms, which came out during a considerable bribe, it is better to give more sushi. In this case, they will be able to collect more honey.
If there are frames with honey, then each swarm should be given one such frame or at least 1-2 kg of additional fertilizer. By placing in the hive frames, insert the side of the nest on either side of its planks, and on top of the frame cover with a canvas or lay the ceiling. Bees during the release of the swarm are very excited. Therefore, they can not be planted in the hive immediately after removal from the scions, so that the swarm, especially the second one, does not fly off.
If forced to plant a swarm shortly after its release, then in order to avoid a swarm of swarms one should give 1 frame of an open brood from the family that released the swarm. In addition, in order to avoid rumors, do not put the hive in a strong sunshine. In hot weather hives with swarms need to be shaded.
It should be borne in mind that one of the reasons for flying swarms are bad hives and honeycombs. Hives and frames with honeycombs should be clean, not dusty, not stained with diarrhea and not have a bad smell (for example, the smell of mice, mold, diarrhea, etc.). Unclean hives must not only be cleaned well, but also rubbed with lemon peel or melissa, and honeycombs should be sprinkled with the one with the addition of melissa drops.
Bees can be planted in two ways: pour bees into the nest on top or pass through the ice.
Pour the bees into the nest so. Remove the cover and the canvas from the frames in the hive, then move the frames into two parts, lower them lower than the rover, so that the bees do not have to fall from a great height, and shake them between the frames to the bottom of the hive. After this, the frames are shifted and immediately closed with a cloth or a ceiling.
If, by virtue of certain circumstances, it is necessary to see the uterus or catch it, then in this case bees are let through the leaves. At the same time, the gangway is attached to the gangway or spreads a piece of cloth, and in the absence of one and the other spread a large sheet of paper and gradually pour on it bees.
First, the scoop of bees is poured from the pilot, so that the bees can immediately find a course in the hive. The second scoop sips a little farther, the third is even farther. Then continue to pour the bees, about 30-40 cm from the tap. This is done in order for the bees to pass before; tap some distance. Follow the walking bees until they see the uterus.
Care for swarms. The next day after landing the swarm it is necessary to follow its work. Cleaning the nest, the flight of bees in the field for prey and the building of waxes indicate that the swarm is developing the nest and will not fly off.
If there is bad weather or a drought, and for a long time without a clueless time, the swarm may not have enough of its daily food and it will fall or fall off. Therefore, under unfavorable conditions, a bribe should be given to the swarms in a timely manner.
At the same time, it is necessary to monitor the proper construction of the honeycombs, for which it is necessary to inspect the nest of the swarm 2-3 days after planting and correct all the observed malfunctions, for example, the curvature of honeycombs, gluing of waxes, breaking of sheets of an artificial honeycomb, etc.
Every day, when you fly out, a lot of bees are lost. Replenishment of the young does not begin soon. As a result, swarms weaken. Therefore, sometimes they have to be reinforced by a mature brood or bees, preferably from families from which these swarms originate.
It is necessary to follow the beginning of laying eggs by the uterus.
Swarms with barren uteri should not be inspected in the hours of bees’ play, so as not to hinder the flight of the uterus to the player or to scare her away when returning from a mating flight.
In the case of loss of the uterus, which often happens during the marriage departure, it is necessary to give the bees a new good uterus or a printed uterus.
The absence of the uterus can be judged even by the nature of the buildings produced by the bees. The construction of the droned honeycomb in the form of tongues and the appearance of the bowls on them testify to the absence of the family. To check this, you need to give the swarm a mature motherhood and after 1-2 days to inspect it. If there is a uterus, the bees will gnaw the motherhood, and the bees of the bezoterma swarm of the mother liquor will not be destroyed. Loss of the uterus can be checked even by setting a swarm of one frame with a young brood. If in 2-3 days the queen cells found on this brood are found, then this shows that the uterus is not.
Termination of swarming and care of the bees that have come off. Detached family should be inspected on the same day and destroy the excess queen cells, leaving only one, the best, in the nest. Since at this time there is a lot of young brood, the bees can re-lay themselves a few fistula queen cells and eventually come off. To avoid this, you need to make a second inspection 3 days after the first inspection and destroy the unnecessary queen cells, if any. Detached family before the release of the new uterus will not build honeycombs with bee cells, and therefore there is no need to substitute for it an artificial wax. You can give a building frame.
It is necessary to follow the exit and fertilization of the uterus; for this purpose, 2 weeks after the release of the first person, it is necessary to inspect the nest. If the mother will be unopened, which happens rarely, it means that the uterus has gone to ner. Correctly cut off the lid shows that the queen is out. The mother liquor, gnawed from the side, indicates that the uterus is killed by bees. In the latter case, it is necessary to look for another uterus or a young uterus in the nest.
At this time, there will be no brood, and therefore a week later, you need to again inspect the nest and check whether it is sowing (eggs), and so repeat the examinations until there is complete certainty that the hive has a fetal uterus.
On apiaries, especially large ones, mainly after inclement weather, delaying swarming, sometimes there are many swarms at once. If the hives are crowded, the swarm bees are mixed and planted together. It turns out a large landfill swarm. It should be collected in several rouven, without caring for uterus, and before evening put in. hives through the summer, in order to catch the queens. Each inhabited hive is left with one uterus.
The return of swarms back to the families from which they left (“to the old man”) is used in the following cases: 1) when they wish to get a swarm with a young uterus; 2) when they wish to receive a swarm of great strength; 3) when the family is not strong enough to take a swarm from it and 4) when the swarm is too late, for example, at the end of the honey gathering, as a result of which it will not have time to rebuild the nest. In the first two cases it is necessary to take the uterus, and the bees to return back. On the 9th day a stronger swarm with young uterus will emerge. In the last two cases, the procedure is as follows: if the old uterus is good, then examine the nest, destroy all queen cells, and swarm with the uterus return; If the uterus is bad, it is destroyed and one best motherhood is left in the nest.
How to find out where the swarm came from. If the beekeeper did not notice which swine came out of the hive, then this beehive can be recognized in this way. Before the evening, when the years of bees are over, take a handful of bees from the swarm, take out the spot for the territory of the apiary and, letting them flour, are set free, and go themselves to that part of the apiary where it was harvested; swarm, and watch at the gates for the appearance of flour-strewn bees. Often, bees, sprinkled with flour, you can meet at the tapes of several hives. This means that other beehives joined the swarm. Where more bees come back, that beehive gave a swarm.
How to save extra swarms. If soon after the release of the swarm from a highly productive family, the uterus may be required, then, taking the extra queens from the swarm, they are placed in squares and placed between the frames of the nest of the family that released the pervaka. There is no uterus yet, and therefore bees will feed them for some time.
Regulation of the timing of swarming of bee colonies.
The swarming of bee colonies affects their productivity in different ways. This depends primarily on the conditions of the bribe and the time of swarming.
If the swarming coincides with the period of the main bribe, then, it is definitely unprofitable. Bees, being in a swarm state, do not receive a significant part of nectar and greatly reduce the production of wax. This refers to ancillary bribes. The more abundant the bribes in nature, the greater will be the shortage of honey by families swarming during this bribe.
Loss and later swarming, for example, 2-3 weeks before the main bribe with buckwheat. By the beginning of the bribe, the so-called swarm energy, manifested in the increased efficiency of the bees in the first period (one to two weeks) after the release of the swarm, will depart, the nest will be occupied by the brood, the flying bees will not be enough during the bribe and the bribes are spent by swarms on its growth. In the outgoing family during the bribe there will also be a few bees, hence, it will also give little honey.
Early swarming, 5-6 weeks before the bribe, in the conditions of most regions of Ukraine, having the main bribe from buckwheat, is beneficial. Such swarms can intensify to the main bribe and collect a considerable amount of honey. Detached families also manage to come to a normal state; bees from the brood of young uterus, manage to take part in the main honey collector.
In a turbulent but short-term major bribe, for example, from lime trees, good performance indicators are often given to families whose swarming occurred 7-10 days before the beginning of this bribe. For a week and a half, the swarm has time to rebuild the nest well and with high energy it works on honey. In the outgoing family, by the time the bribe begins, a young uterus is removed and therefore the bees also work with increased energy. In addition, most of the cells are released (young bees come out of them) and there is plenty of room for folding nectar. At the same time, the feed consumption in this family is low because of the lack of open brood.
With the main bribe from buckwheat and other honey plants with a longer flowering period than the linden – the swarming of families 7-10 days before the start, this, a bribe is somewhat less profitable, due to a significant decrease in the strength of the outgoing family in the second half of the bribe.
It follows that if natural swarming is permitted on the apiary, then it should not occur spontaneously, but they must be managed; the beekeeper is obliged to regulate the terms of swarming, based on local conditions of bribe, the strength of families, etc.
In the apiaries where natural swarming is allowed, advanced beekeepers do not let him “in a drift”, but do take measures to regulate the swarming terms, speeding up or delaying it so that in the conditions of a given locality and season, the swarming of families is most productive.
Swarming of bee colonies occurs much earlier, if the apiary consists of strong, well-overwintered families, who since early spring have created conditions that ensure the most rapid development. The sooner families achieve greater power, the earlier they can come in a swarm.
For the rapid transition of the evolved family from working to swarming conditions create conditions conducive to swarming: tightness and “stuffiness” in the nest, the continuous supply of food to the hive and the unloaded bees by wax-building work. If, for example, in the second half of May, in a strong family, the nest is sharply reduced, the streets reduced to 8-9 mm, and in addition, the ventilation of the beehive is reduced, the nest is well insulated, then the family soon goes into a swarm state and after a few days lays queen cells and prepares for the release of the swarm.
Some beekeepers use the rearrangement of family from 2-3 families with a mature brood to accelerate the transition of the family to the swarm state. However, it must be borne in mind that in such a family her personality will be violated (she will become a team), which in some cases may lead to a decrease in productivity and other valuable qualities of the family. In addition, it should always be remembered that by rearranging the frame with brood from one family to another, it is possible to spread infectious diseases unnoticed by the beekeeper (in a latent form).
Terms of swarming can be significantly delayed, and in many cases also prevented if the following measures are applied:
1.) timely expand nests, not allowing tightness in them;
2) to load bees with voskonstroitelnoy work, widely applying the construction framework and detachment of artificial wax;
3) to load bees with the work of processing nectar into honey, creating for this purpose an appropriate forage base and applying bee migrations;
4) in the hot season, take measures to ensure that the hives stand in the shade or use shading of their mats, grass, branches, etc., with improvised materials; during the summer migrations, the hives should be put down to the north;
5) do not allow “stuffiness” in the nest, applying in the hot time increased ventilation through the tapholes and ventilation holes in the hives, and, if necessary, bending the ceiling canvas or slightly pushing the ceiling boards;
6) rearrange the frame with an open brood on the edge of the nest, and with the indoor – in the middle; to open brood to put frames with an artificial wax for detuning, than the dispersal of young bees is achieved and the best loading by their work; this method is more convenient to produce in hives-loungers;
7) to apply spacious beehives (beds on 20-24 frames, developing in them one family, and two-body);
8) swarming is delayed, if you expand the streets a little, than the capacity of the nest increases. However, this method can be used only in certain cases: in the heat, before the very beginning of a bribe and for a short time;
9) the propensity of the bee family to swarming can be significantly reduced if the old uterus is replaced in a timely manner with a good young (fetal) year-end;
10) it is of great importance to improve the quality of bee colonies from year and year by selecting and breeding the most productive non-friendly families.
These techniques are widely used in the advanced apiaries of our country, as they, while preventing the appearance of swarms of bee colonies, contribute to better use of bribes and to increase the productivity of families.
The greatest effectiveness from carrying out these measures is obtained when they are applied systematically from the very beginning of the season.
If the beekeeper was late with the adoption of appropriate measures to a family and she passed into a swarm and laid queen cells, it is usually most appropriate to allow such a family to let go of the swarm. Removal of queen cells in the family, preparing for swarming (with a view to stop swarming), is unreasonable. Instead of cut queen cells, new family members will appear in the family, and the swarm condition may be prolonged for a long time, which will lead to a disruption of the use of this family honey.
Use of swarming for accelerated reproduction of bee colonies.
It should be pointed out that the natural swarming of bee colonies, despite a large number of shortcomings in comparison with artificial swarming, also has some positive aspects. They consist that swarms possess the raised working energy in comparison with layers, incomparably faster build nests, use bribes are better, are more vital and develop better. Strongly well-overwintered high-productive families of apiaries from the earliest spring conditions are created, most conducive to their rapid development. These families are meant for reproduction. Their number usually should not exceed a part of the Uz from the whole apiary.
In May, when the families allocated for reproduction will develop sufficiently and will have no less than 12-14 frames well covered with bees, including at least 8-10 frames of brood, with at least a small bribe, these techniques are used by the techniques that accelerate their transition into a swarm state. As a result of this, families are released by swarms of pervaks.
In the released swarm they find the uterus and plant it with a part of the swarm into a separate hive, or, even better, into a fenced off half of the newly populated hive, so that the same part of the other swarm will be planted in the other half of the hive for mutual heating.
With the uterus, only about 1 kg of bees is left, that is, the minimum amount needed for the uterus to significantly develop egg laying. The rest of the swarm bees are returned to the maternal family, from which the swarm comes out.
In a nest with a part of the swarm and a uterus, one honeycomb frame with a printed brood is given from the mother’s family to replenish the swarm with young bees, one frame with a well-built honeycomb so that the uterus does not have a break in laying eggs, and two frames with an artificial wax that will quickly rebuilt. In the future, with proper care, this family can develop independently and by July bribes become a family of medium strength.
Approximately 9 days after the release of the swarm from the maternal family, a swarm of great power emerges. It is collected in a rover and by evening, dividing into 2 parts, they put them in different sections of the partitioned wall of the hive (for mutual heating). The nest of the maternal family is divided into 3 approximately equal parts: one, part is left in place, in the same hive, and two others give a divided swarm. It must be ensured that, as for each part of the swarm of the vtoraka, and in that part of the maternal family that remained in place, there was one young uterus and approximately the same number of broods.
In all these 3 nests, add 2 sheets of artificial wax. Nests are well insulated.
By this time on the apiary there must be drones, deduced in advance in the most productive families.
In the future, the young uterus is fertilized. In case of loss of any uterus at marriage departures in a family give a good motherhood from another highly productive family. Families are provided with the conditions for their best development.
Thus, with the help of a two-fold controlled natural swarming, each propagated family is divided into 4 parts, one of them – with the old uterus and 3 – with the young. It is not necessary to divide the family into more parts in the conditions of most regions of Ukraine. If the family is broken up into even smaller parts, then they will develop worse, and also use bribes worse.
Each of the seeds, having a young, become a fetus, with proper care and a medium abundance of bribes by the end of the season develops to the level of a family of medium strength and provides itself with fodder for the winter.
Artificial swarming and its advantages.
The most common method for obtaining bee colonies in our country at the present time is that the beekeeper, without waiting for the arrival of the bee colonies intended for reproduction into the swarm state, separates its part (usually several frames with bees, brood and forage), settles in another hive (or in the neighboring compartment of the same hive) and gives her a uterus (usually a fetus) or a motherhood. Flight bees return to the nest of the main family; in the housing in a new place there are young bees that have not yet flown out of the hive and have not made indicative overflights. Organized small families are called offsets, and this way of gaining is called artificial swarming, or the formation of layers.
The formation of the layers is usually carried out during the day, during the maximum summer of the bees, so that the flying bees get into the brood as little as possible. Often, the bees are shaken off in leavings and from 2-3 frames left in the nest of the main bee family. The brood in the layers is printed (mostly mature), so that the bees can not lay the fistula queen and more willingly accept the implantable uterus or uterus. The uterus is released from the cell on the second day, after the examination, if the beekeeper on the behavior of the bees is convinced that the uterus is accepted by the layer,
In practice, cuttings are often made prefabricated, that is, for the formation of each layer a frame with brood and bees is used, not from one family but from several.
Novelformed layers require special attention and care from the beekeeper. Without flying bees, they can not serve themselves completely for the first 3-5 days, so the beekeeper gives them a nest of water (pouring into empty honeycombs), reduces the flock to such an extent that no more than 1-2 bees can pass through it at the same time, and observes whether the bees of other families have attacked them. In addition, in most cases, such layers are periodically podsalivayutsya frames with mature print brood. Under good conditions the bribe and proper care of the layering develop into normal families.
Artificial swarming has the following advantages over natural swarming:
1) Artificial swarming can be done on a planned basis, whereas natural swarming to a large extent occurs spontaneously: in one years the bees swarm, in others they swarm a little; the family preparing for swarming can discontinue this training, and so on.
2) Applying artificial swarming, it is easier to improve the quality of the whole apiary by multiplying only the most; productive families. With natural, natural swarming, especially if it is run “on its own”, those families that are least productive are the most prone to swarming, and therefore the annual gain only due to such swarming would inevitably lead to a deterioration in the productivity of the apiary as a whole.
3) When using artificial swarming, the bees are not in the swarm, inactive state, they are fuller and better use bribes and give more production. With natural swarming, the swarm state of bee colonies can be prolonged for a long time and lead to a decrease in honey collection.
4) When forming the layers, one can make such a force that is most advantageous in the given conditions, that is, it is easy to separate any part of the family. Easily; to time the time for the organization of the layers to certain conditions of a bribe in the given area. It is possible temporarily and in good conditions to bring out full-fledged queens from the best families for laying off. All this with the use of natural swarming is much more difficult.
5) Using artificial swarming, it is easier to keep a record of the productivity of each bee family, which is necessary to further improve the quality of bee colonies throughout the apiary. With natural swarming, such a calculation is difficult: there may be land swarms, the departure of individual swarms and apiaries, and so on.
6) In the apiary, where artificial swarming is accepted, it is easier for a beekeeper to work and his work is much more productive. The beekeeper does not need to be in the apiary in the swarm period, he can use part of his time more productively, for example, regularly inspect the honey-bearing vegetation on the territory of the land and the surrounding area, in order to immediately organize a nomadic move, prepare for a new apiary point, improvement of the forage reserve and other urgent work outside the apiary.
In addition, with artificial swarming there is no need to climb trees for swarms, to spend time collecting them, etc.
Due to these great advantages, artificial swarming has become firmly established and is widely used by the majority of beekeepers in Ukraine.
But in the most common methods of artificial swarming there are significant drawbacks.
The disadvantage of the most common methods of artificial swarming is that the layers in the first days of its existence are less viable than swarms and develop worse. While swarms show increased energy in the first days of their life, they quickly rebuild their nests, their bees bring food and water to the beehives, protect the summer well, etc., the layers are almost inactive; their bees do not fly and do not bring feed and water, do not guard the tap; Lines are often attacked by bees of other families, worse nests; As a result, in marshes more often than in other families or in swarms, a moth is started and some diseases are manifested.
The reasons for this difference between the swarm and the layer formed by the most common method are as follows.
1. It is proved that the swarm does not appear suddenly, but is born and ripens in the mother’s family while preparing for swarming. Rhenia is preceded by the corresponding development of this bee family. Under normal conditions, strong families usually prepare for swarming, and sometimes (in conditions of tightness and “stuffiness” in the nest) and medium. Weak and fast growing families of medium strength, as a rule, do not prepare for swarming and do not swarm.
In the practice of beekeeping in artificial swarming, in many cases all this was not taken into account. It was recommended, for example, to make cuttings mainly from not fully developed, rapidly growing families, having only 7 frames with brood, etc. It is clear that such families, coming from unprepared families, are inferior in quality to natural swarms. Yes, and on the most unprepared and insufficiently strong family, from which the brood is taken, such artificial swarming will be reflected negatively: in many cases, after selection of the layer, this family is stronger in strength than the normal family.
2. Natural swarms do not come out during the whole season, but usually in the most suitable time for the development of bees in a given locality: in May, June, July. Some beekeepers make cuttings much earlier or much later than natural dates, not taking into account the biological properties of bee colonies. It is clear that such layers are in worse conditions than swarms, and special care is required on the part of the beekeeper to ensure their development.
3. Natural swarms, as a rule, have ample strength for independent existence. On average, the swarm is about half of the bees of the whole family. Lapping does, in most cases, much weaker than swarms. This also affects their quality and performance.
4. The bee family is a harmonious biological system, a biological unit. The life of all its members is mutually reinforcing, which manifests itself both in work in the hive and in all interrelations with the conditions of the external environment. The same connection remains in the swarm, which is part of the family, especially in the swarm of pervak. Many beekeepers, without taking this into account, organize the assembling of them in assemblies, that is, each collection comes from two or more families of different quality, of different nature. In such a diversion, in some measure, the mutual undermining of all its members in the performance of work is violated. Roy also comes from the same family, and there is no such violation of mutual affinity.
5. The main difference between the swarm and the diversion, organized by the most common method, is as follows. In the swarm there are bees of all ages. Studies by Soviet scientists have shown that swarms consist mainly of bees between the ages of 3 and 21 days, but in addition, a part of the bees of a much older age join the swarm. This is easy to see if you look at the sitting swarm: next to the young, very gray bees, there is a small part of the old bees, which have almost no hairs, there are bees with pollen on the legs, etc.
Lapping is generally done in such a way that only bees of a very young age remain in them, they do not fly over. These are bees, mostly immature, almost incapable of performing the most important beehive work, especially cleaning the cells of the nest, protecting the tap and fighting pests. Thus, life inside the family (lining) from the first days is broken. In addition, without flying bees, the lag for a considerable time loses its connection with the external environment. In the hive, no nectar, pollen, or water comes. By the way, in the water, which the beekeeper is forced to spray into the honeycombs of the nest, the microorganisms are intensively developing, which further contributes to the onset of diseases: on the second and third day this water becomes almost unsuitable for drinking.
The beekeepers begin to fly out most often on the 4th-5th day after its formation, and often later. In this case, each flying bee first makes a fly around for the acquisition of a conditioned reflex to the location of the hive and only then flies in search of food and water.
Thus, due to the absence of flying bees, the life of the outline is severely disrupted, worsens at least for the first 4-5 days, and even more, and this period in the life of a family starting an independent life is significant.
If, at the same time, other irregularities allowed in the formation of the layers are taken into account, then the reasons for the lagging of the layers in growth and development, especially in the early days, become quite understandable. In the future, with the advent of flying bees, the living conditions of the layer improve, but he, as an ill organism, does not correct very quickly.
Is it possible to use artificial swarming in conditions of apiaries, so that the quality of the layers is not inferior to swarms. Of course, you can.
If, for example, the layers are organized from prepared bee colonies, under the appropriate season conditions and. bribe, create their proper strength, and most importantly do not violate life within the layers, that is, ensure that the layers always have a sufficient number of bees of different ages, and not just young ones, then such layers will not generally yield to swarms, but, on the contrary, will exceed them on many indicators.
True, such layers will not have “swarm energy” to the extent that swarms have it. However, it should be taken into account that when the swarm was preparing to leave the family, for some time the bees in its composition did not work with full load, did not rebuild the honeycombs, flew for a bribe and did not use a large part of it, but accumulated energy, which after the release of the swarm, they manifest in the form of “swarm energy. The bees that make up the lineage, being part of the maternal family, were loaded with work all the time, better than the swarm they used the existing bribe and in general give no less, and often more benefit than the swarms of the swarm, working after its release more intensively.
It follows from the foregoing that the existing, the most widespread method of forming the offshoots (without flying bees) in the apiary does not fully meet the requirements of Michurin’s biological science and the tasks of production. It should be replaced by other, more advanced methods of artificial swarming, based on the data of Michurin’s biological science.
Applying artificial swarming, it is necessary to be guided by the following basic rules.
1. Layers should only occur from highly productive, healthy and strong apiary families. Families poorly productive, poorly wintered, lagging behind in development should not be used to gain growth.
2. The formation of layers should be prepared in advance of the family, from the very beginning of the season. Based on the plan for gaining, families that are destined for reproduction must be provided with the best conditions to ensure their rapid development.
3. In most cases, it is necessary to make cuttings in individual cases, that is, the bees and brood of each layer must come from the same highly productive family. Prefabricated layers should not be used, prefabricated families often produce less productive and less resistant to diseases than the best families of apiaries or individual layers from the best families. In addition, the use of prefabricated layers contributes to the spread of diseases in the apiary: the diseases can be hidden and, if unnoticed by the beekeeper, can easily be introduced with brood or bees into pre-cast layers.
It is better to make the pulling off of the brood by the brood and the bees of its mother’s family.
4. The brood should be so strong that it is capable of independent development. Do not make small size cuttings, especially single-frame ones, they are less vital, at first they develop poorly, which is reflected in their further productivity.
Fusions with fetal uterus should have at least 4-5 standard frames, densely covered with bees, and with barren (nucleuses) – not less than 2-3 frames.
In the layer when it is formed, there should be at least 3-4 kg of honey and not less than 7 g of the perg’s frame. In the case of a decrease in feed in the layers, which is often the case with a breakage of the bribe, the layers should be fed.
5. The time of formation of layers should be selected in accordance with local conditions of bribe, but in any case, the formation of layers with barren uteri is too early and too late to be avoided. So, for example, in the conditions of the Kiev region in the presence of bribes, the earliest cuttings with barren uteri or queen cells can be organized in the middle of May, and the latest ones at the end of July. Laying off with fetal uterus can be organized in slightly wider terms, but it is also imperative that during the period of their formation there is a bribe. At the time of the formation of the layers, the output of the queens must be adjusted.
6. The way of formation of layers should be such that in each layer there are different ages of bees, that is, in addition to young, non-flying bees in the layers there was a sufficient number and flight. Only in this case is the life most likely to be violated within the newly organized family.
The main ways of forming layers with different age bees.
Depending on the conditions, the layers can be formed in different ways.
In spring, it is most simple to form the layers on the overwintering reserve uterus, which in Ukraine is recommended to leave at least 25% of the total number of apiary families in the winter.
After the exhibition of bees from the winter quarters, a part of the spare queens is used to replace the queens that have turned out to be of poor quality, or used to fix the bezmatel families, and the rest can be successfully used to form the earliest layers.
Usually a family with a spare uterus (nucleus) hibernates on a 4-5 framework in a separated part of the hive-lodge, next to the main family, or they are placed two in one hive, partitioned by a solid partition. Here they remain in the spring, which facilitates the heating of the nests by bees.
After the main spring audit (and in some cases even before it), the nucleus with a spare uterus is predominantly supported by a mature printed brood and gradually turns into a brood. At the same time, it is important that the given frame with the brood be fully encircled by the bees of the nucleus. To do this, first, giving the frame with the brood “in exchange remove another frame from the nucleus socket. This frame is given 2-3 in 7-10 days one after another.
It is advisable that the reinforcements of the family take place only at the expense of the maternal family, from which the given family occurs.
Early lapping on overwintered fetuses with the application of podsalivaniya from the maternal family in the future grow rapidly and by the summer cans can reach the size of strong families, that is, they will completely occupy 20-24 frames of the hive-lounger or a two-hull beehive.
For an even faster build-up of bees, both in the layers and in the maternal families, the Ukrainian Research Station for Beekeeping recommends doing so. The family, which is located in the hive-lodge near the main family (behind the septum), with the hibernating fetus, is first slightly reinforced by the main family. After that, open brood of younger ages from the family is systematically transferred to the main family for feeding, and instead of the selected frames, the same number of frames with a mature printed brood are returned to the family. This improves the brood rearing and the laying of eggs by both uterus. When the bees of both families fill the entire hive, the family is transferred to a separate hive and used as a brood (for growing the apiary), leading to proper strength,
The use of spare wintering queens for the formation of layers or helper families is especially advantageous in areas where the main bribes are early, for example, from winter rape, sainfoin, acacia, sometimes lime and early buckwheat. If in such conditions the layers are not made with wintering uterus, but with the uterus of the year-end, this can often lead to a decrease in the honey harvest due to the fragmentation of the multiplying families during the formation of the layers.
If the main bribe falls at a later time (for example, in July), then in such areas, to obtain growth, methods of forming layers with the uterus of this year or with queen cells are widely used. In this case, often in the organized litter is given the uterus of the main family, and the latter, or to herself, displays the queens, or she is given a young uterus or a mother from another family. In all these cases, it is necessary that both the selected collection and the remaining maternal family have a sufficient number of not only honeycombs, fodder and brood, but also bees of all ages.
There are several ways of forming such full-fledged layers (with bees of different ages). They should be used, choosing in each case the most suitable for these conditions.
Ways to form the layers using their transport. At present, most apiaries of Ukraine in the spring-summer period are located at two or several points, 4-6 km apart from each other. In such conditions it is very advantageous to use the transportation from one point to another when forming the layers.
Figure. Bull with a family, designed to form a layer from it.
This is done as follows. Strong, highly productive families, planned for the selection from them of the layers, are carefully inspected on the day of the formation of the layers. At the same time, the frames with brood and fodder are planned, which should be used in the organization of the layers. The uterus of each such family is taken in a box or covered with a cap on the honeycomb. In the evening of the same day, during the end of the summer of bees, the intended frames with the bees sitting on them are taken out of these families and placed in pre-prepared hives for prey.
It is better, if in each such hive will be planted on 2 layers, separated by a solid plywood partition.
If the litter is given to the uterus from the main families, they are simply released between the bees of the layers after the transfer of the frames. If necessary, the layers are given another 1-2 frames of good land. After that, their nests should be fully prepared for transportation and closed. Late in the evening, at night or early in the morning, the organized layers are taken to another apiary point, in the order of exchange of equivalent layers.
In the morning, bees fly around in a new place. Such layers exist from the very first day very energetically.
If there are no queens in transported layers (for example, they remained in the main families), then by the evening of the first day of stay of the layers at the new point they are given good uteri or queen cells. If the main families are left without the queens, the withdrawal of the queens can be properly organized in the best of them, and spare families or queen mothers from the best families should be given the remaining families.
In the same way, sometimes a part of the layers is formed, using the transport of bee colonies when traveling. In this case, there is an opportunity in the evening, after the summer of bees, to plant the layers into separate vacant places (“pockets”) of the hives-lounges. After night transportation the bees of the layers will fly in a new place and the flying bees will remain in them.
Sometimes, in the day before the transportation, only the frames for the layers are outlined, late in the evening bees are transported, and the removal of the layers is done in the morning, until the bees went on flying. In these conditions, places for layers should be prepared in advance, the uterus should be in cells and all work should be done quickly in time to have time to plant the families before the beginning of the intensive flight of bees.
If this nomadic move is carried out in order to obtain a basic bribe, then, firstly, it is impossible at this time to form the layers in large quantities, and, secondly, the separated families should not be large so as not to weaken the basic families before the honey-gathering. In this case, usually form only small families (nucleuses), only 2-3 frames, for temporary preservation or fertilization of the queens; but they should not be deprived of flying bees, because such deprivation worsens the condition of the entire family, and, consequently, of the uterus, which is also very sensitive to abnormal conditions.
Methods of forming layers with separation of flying bees. Beekeeping literature very often describes the widely known practice of dividing families “in half” or “half a summer”, ensuring the presence of flying bees in both parts of the divided family. It consists in the following. In the afternoon, during a good summer of bees, next to the hive, where there is a family planned for division into two equal parts, an empty hive of the same shape and color is put. The hive with the family is moved somewhat in the opposite direction, so that the distance between the hives is 0.5-1 m. About half the frames of the nest with food, brood and bees sitting on them are transferred to the delivered beehive. Uterus may be in one “or in another hive (when the family is divided into equal parts it does not matter).
Fig. A hive is taken from the hive with the family, the mother’s hive is half a meter to the left, and the diverted to the right from the former place of the hive parking
Fig. The scheme of the location of the hives before and after the formation of the layer.
The flying bees, returning to the place where their hive used to stand, are not found there, for a while they are swirling (“pounding in the air”) and are distributed to both beehives. In practice, it rarely happens that they are divided evenly from the first time, but this can be easily corrected: the beehive, into which the bees fly more, is further pushed aside. An unmarried family is given a uterus or a uterus. In the future, bees fly into both hive and soon get used to their new places. In case of need, both hives gradually (0.5 m per day) are moved to the sides to permanent places.
The main improvement introduced into the described way of dividing the family “in half” is that in a new, as well as a set hive, you can separate not only half of the nest with bees, but any part of it, for example, 1/3 or 1 / The fourth part, that is, to take any value of the leads. Approximately the same part of the flying bees is sent to the hive in accordance with the separated part of the nest. If, for example, in a new beehive with a trapped bend it is necessary to separate a third of the flying bees, and there are more of them, for example, half, then a new hive must be moved slightly or turned slightly aside.
Fig. The beehive, in which the bees fly more than it should, moves slightly more aside or slightly turns. The dotted line indicates the place of the mother hive No. 45 before taking a layer from it. Beehive No. 45 is pushed to the left when taking the lead, and No. 45a is moved a little further to the right and turned slightly to the side to reduce the years of bees. The arrows show the direction of the summer of the bees after the formation of the outflow.
Fig. To the left is the maternal hive No. 45, from which the brood is taken. (This hive is pushed to the left of the bush); on the right of the line No. 45L – is pushed to the right of the bush and slightly turned away from the summer direction of the bees to reduce the number of bees flying into it.
The regulation of the number of flying bees entering into the hive, if they are unevenly separated, is conveniently made by easy “lapel” of one of the hives to the side. Bees remember well the old direction of the tap, and fewer bees will go to the hive, which is somewhat turned around.
Observations showed that the most memorized bees are not the color or shape of the hive, but the place of its parking among other apiary beehives and local objects. Therefore, it is not necessary to select the hive for the removal of the same color, shape and size as the beehive of the main family when forming the line in the manner described, with the separation of flight bees. If the hive for the diversion differs sharply from the hive of the main family, it is often enough to push aside the “old” hive, and put the “new” hive almost in its place.
The formation of layers in this way is particularly convenient if the hives are not on pegs, but on portable stands used in many apiaries.
It is possible to achieve proper distribution of flying bees between hives, without moving the main beehive at all. To do this, the hive intended for removal must be placed in front of the main hive as close as possible to it and so that it covers its part with the hive of the main hive. In this way it is very convenient to use also when the beekeeper works alone in the apiary or when the brood is placed in a smaller beehive than the hive of the main family, which in practice is not uncommon.
Fig. A hive with a layer (73L) is placed closely ahead of the mother (73), from which this latch is taken, covering half of the hatch of the mother hive.
Fig. The layout of the mother’s hive.
In a few days, after the bees get used to flying into the hives so located, they can be gradually pushed aside until they take up places convenient for the beekeeper’s work. In many cases
The distance between these two hives can be kept only one meter. In this case, the location of these hives in relation to others will change insignificantly and will not complicate the orientation of the bees of other families,
In the event that the brood is placed in the same hive, for example, in the “pocket” of the hive-lounger, and the flotation is located on the side of the hive, separation of the flying bees can also be made easily. To do this, after rearranging the frames of the diversion to another branch of the main family’s nest, the entire hive in place turns 40-50 њ to the side so that the corner of the beehive made up by its walls with flaps is directed to the side where the leaflet was earlier directed the main family. The bees, returning to the beehive, will find a corner of the hive in the place of the tap, they will turn around a bit and will go to both of them.
Fig. After the formation of the layer from family No. 91, the hive containing the maternal family No. 91 and the batch No.91a is turned an angle forward. Arrows indicate the direction of summer bees.
If the distribution of flying bees needs to be changed, then the hive is slightly turned in the appropriate direction. In all cases, the help is facilitated by the rearrangement of the landing boards, the prefix to the hives of mats, and so on.
Even if the hive pocket of the hive is located behind the hive, and the main family’s flock is in front, it is also possible to distribute the flying bees to both parts of the hive. For this purpose, the hive is rotated by 90 њ, that is, where the beehive of the main “family” used to be, there will be a side wall of the hive (without the flyers), although the bees will be more involved, but they will find both one and the other. However, it should be avoided for other reasons to dispose of the tapholes in the opposite direction of the hives. Such layers will be in different, often worse, conditions than the main families: in the spring they are colder (after all, the main families are turned off by the tapes usually on the sunny side), in summer it is hotter, since the main families should be turned north at this time, and the layers have to be the southern side.
Experienced beekeeper working with hives-loungers, makes them a slotted slot widths on the entire front wall of the tap. This makes it possible, if necessary, to open the chutes to any width. In addition, such a hive can be divided into any parts and against each of them in the front wall it is easy to arrange the necessary width of the leaves, covering the rest of the common escape slot. When the bee is organized with bees of different age, it forms it from the side of the hive where the bees are already accustomed to flying. The more accurate distribution of the bees between the layer and the main family, it reaches by placing a thin board or small “rib” on the front wall of the hive in the appropriate place a sheet of plywood and then it turns slightly in the desired direction.
Ways to form the layers with the preliminary training of bees to fly for two years. He achieved the distribution of flying bees as follows. For a week and a half before the formation of a layer, he began, to teach bees to fly for two years. To do this, several times the nest of the main family should be moved so that it captures both tapholes: the old one and the new one, which will later be used for the removal, and opens a new leaflet. In order to successfully master the development of new beacons by the bees, the old summer was greatly reduced. When the bees were taught to fly to both gondola, he put a solid partition in the appropriate place, completely formed the brood on several frames and gave him a mother liquor.
Fig. Hive bees are accustomed to fly for two years. Then a part of the nest near the left tap hole is separated by a partition and a hole is formed here.
The simplest example of the formation of layers by this method is shown in Fig.
Beekeeper A. G. Popov from the Voronezh region contains bees in two-hull beehives. Lapping with flying bees, it forms in the second hulls in the following way. With the onset of warm weather, not less than a day or two weeks before the second hull is set up and a bend is formed in it, it opens the upper hive of the hive with the bees, first for the passage of one of the two bees, and then completely.
When forming a layer, he places the upper body with a plywood bottom, a flap in the same direction, with preliminary training of the bees to fly two flights.
As in the main family, transfers to the second building a third part of the nest with obscuring bees, adds 2-3 frames with honey and perga and gives a motherhood. Nest of the main family replenishes up to 12 frames. Then he puts the upper body on the lower and upper bottom of the lower case closes. The bees flying in the upper chute of the lower hull will now go into the second hull.
In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the formation of layers with bees of all ages not only improves the state of the layers and ensures their faster development, but also greatly facilitates the work of the beekeeper and makes it more productive. The bees of such layers are well guarded by the tapewings and therefore are not robbed by bees of other families, hence, there is no need to “guard” them and guard against attacking bees or to fight against attack. Such layers should not be poured into honeycombs, the bees themselves will bring it, and in addition, they will also bring fresh food: nectar and pollen.
After separating the layer from the family, their total years not only do not decrease, but even increase, which is of great importance.
Some beekeepers sometimes use other methods to organize new families, for example, “raid on the uterus” or “plaque on the mother”. With these methods, the life of both families is disrupted, the main one and the lineage. In one of them, only young bees remain, who can not perform many jobs, and in the other – only flying ones, who are forced to produce a number of works performed in a normal family mainly by young (beehive) bees. Such methods of formation of new families worsen the condition of the bee colonies to which they are applied, and should not be used widely.
Use of layers.
Currently, on the majority of growing apiaries of Ukraine, the main number of layers is brought to the strength of normal families, that is, it is used as an increase in the apiary.
However, in many large apiaries already and now a significant part of the layers has a different purpose – they are used as assisting families. The organization of assisting families is widely practiced in those areas where the main bribe is late, around July, and sometimes takes part of August. In such conditions, part of the early layers (not going into increment) is connected with the main families before the main bribe. In the united family there is one uterus of the conclusion of this year. Such families use bribes very well, because they have many bees and, thanks to the presence of the uterus, the conclusion of this year, are not prone to swarming. These layers should be done approximately 6-7 weeks before the beginning of the main bribe.
But there is also a third task, for which it is necessary to organize layers: this is a qualitative improvement of the apiary. To accomplish this task, most apiaries have already approached. Systematically to cull weak families, replacing them with strong ones, obtained from highly productive bee colonies. As beekeeping is restored, this task is on the agenda.
Withdrawal of queens.
Calculation of the number of queens to be taken out in a given season.
The withdrawal of queens on each apiary is made annually, several times in a season.
The number of young fetuses needed for the apiary is calculated based on the size of the apiary and its planned growth targets; Other conditions of the apiary are also taken into account.
Consider this for an example. Suppose that the apiary has 100 bee colonies and 10 spare wintering queens by the beginning of the season. The growth plan for the current year is 20%. The number of spare queens to be allowed to winter is 25% of the number of wintering families. The main bribe of the apiary is assumed with buckwheat, in June and July. An early small bribe can be from fruit trees, and then from winter rape and sainfoin. The apiary is sufficiently provided with honeycombs.
In the presence of these conditions, it is necessary in the current season to withdraw at least twenty fetuses for the growth of the apiary. In addition, twenty-five spare queens should be hibernating and at least fifty should be prepared for replacement of old queens in the main families, and about ten for replacement of the last year’s eggs, lagging behind in the laying of eggs.
Thus, it is necessary to grow a hundred and five fetuses in this season.
This approximate calculation can be changed depending on various reasons. So, for example, if it is possible to have early bribes, then the number of spare queens should be more than 25% of the total number of main families; in the event that less than half of all the queens were changed last year, this year it is necessary to replace more than 50% of the total number of them, and so on.
Based on local conditions, the beekeeper plans how many fetal queens must be obtained in this or that period of the season. For example, in this case, to change the two-year-old queens, as well as for the cores going to winter, it is necessary to remove the queens in the first half of the main bribe, namely, in June.
Changing the queens during this period will also contribute to the increase of the honey harvest, and the resulting uterus will be the most high-quality. The uterus for the current year’s cuttings, as well as for “seed-assistants” and spare eggs for changing laggards in the laying of eggs, should be better displayed during the early bribe, that is, in the period of flowering of winter rape – in May. In this case, they can increase more bees to the main bribe, which will also contribute to the increase of honey collection.
Based on local conditions, it is necessary to choose in advance the method of withdrawal of queens and to identify in which exactly the best, highly productive families and when they should be withdrawn. It should be borne in mind that when planning to receive a certain number of fetuses, one must always start their withdrawal from a much larger number of uterine larvae, because a certain part of the queen cells and barren queen be rejected by the beekeeper, some of the queens may get lost during marriages, and even some of the already young The queens can be rejected if they have any defects not noticed by the beekeeper before, or they will not lay eggs well.
Use of swarms and mothers.
In the swarm period, apiaries in the part of families preparing for swarming or letting go of swarms have queen cells, and with the emergence of swarms of vtoraki or song singers, young uterus are also barren. In some cases, such uterus can be used, in some cases it is inappropriate and sometimes unacceptable. It depends on the quality of the bee colonies in which the uterine larvae are bred, and also on the conditions in which they are fed.
The uterus and queen cells from a highly productive family, well overwintered, not sick of any diseases and not very prone to swarming, can be used if during bribing of uterine larvae there was a bribe.
If the family was average in quality or there was not a sufficient bribe in the relevant period, then it is not practical to use queen cells: the uterus with good qualities will not work from them.
If the swarming family, lagging behind in terms of productivity or development, or having a propensity to disease, the queen cells to use such a family is unacceptable, even came out of a family cluster can not be used for the growth of the apiary. He will have to attach to the family that released him to increase the bribe. New families and uterus should only come from the best families.
When using swarm queen cells from highly productive families, it is necessary to choose queen cells of the largest, regular shape. In thin or curved queen cells, the uterus is usually smaller. Do not use very long queen cells, since in them the uterus may be inferior.
Artificial withdrawal of queens and its advantages over the natural.
The artificial withdrawal of queens is based on the property of bee colonies, in case of loss or death of the uterus, laying fistula queen cells on bee larvae and taking out new queens from which the bees are left in the family alone to replace the missing one. Consequently, the beekeeper, by selecting the uterus from the family, can force the family to withdraw the queens. However, at the current level of beekeeping development in our country, beekeepers, following the principles of Michurin’s biological science, should not be limited only to selecting the old uterus, but, actively interfering with the life of bees, are also obliged to create the appropriate conditions for the uterus to be of the highest quality.
Artificial withdrawal of the uterus has great advantages over the natural, occurring, with swarming, with the replacement of the uterus by the family and with the loss of the uterus, when the family withdraws the queens without the intervention of the beekeeper.
The advantages are these:
1. With the artificial withdrawal of queens, the beekeeper can take them from the most productive bee colonies of the apiary and receive the most valuable queens.
2. Families that breed the queen are pre-plannedly prepared for this beekeeper, who creates the best conditions both during the period preceding the withdrawal of the queens and during their withdrawal, which ensures the best quality of the queens.
3. Larvae, allocated for uterine upbringing, can be taken at the youngest age, and not accidental, as is sometimes the case in natural conditions when bees lead fox-uterus.
4. With the artificial withdrawal of queens, it is possible to systematically carry out this work at the best possible time, during a bribe, and at the same time in the period.
Conditions necessary for the withdrawal of full-fledged queens. There are two basic requirements for deduced uterus:
1) that, the uterus was fully developed, full-fledged, that is, under good conditions, the most intensive development of the laying of eggs for a long time (at least two seasons), and,
2) that their offspring (that is, future families) be healthy and be distinguished by the highest and stable productivity in honey and wax.
In order for the uterus to fully meet these requirements, it is necessary to follow the following basic rules when drawing them out artificially.
1. Bags should be derived from the best apiary families that have the highest and stable productivity in honey, wax and growth, well developing, well wintering and not prone to any diseases. In these or the same quality of the family should be and the breeding of uterine larvae.
2. Bags should be excreted only in well-developed strong families, which have a large number of bees-nurses.
3. Families allocated for the withdrawal of queens, should be in the most favorable conditions, not only during the withdrawal of queens, but also long before this time. Stocks of honey in them should not be less than 6-8 kg.
For families intended for the spring withdrawal of queens, it is necessary, starting from the earliest spring, to provide the best conditions for their development (to produce an early flight, it is better to feed, give better honeycombs, warm it well, etc.).
Good conditions must be created for families intended for the summer withdrawal of queens. At the same time, the provision of bribes, the loading of bees with wax-work, the timely expansion of the nest, the strengthening of the ventilation of the hive, and the taking of measures against the “stuffiness” in it are of particular importance for such families. It is necessary to create proper conditions for these families to be strong for a long time, to be in working order and to use bribes well. It must always be remembered that the qualities of bees are to a certain extent transmitted to the uterus when they are raised through protein food – milk, which is harvested by the uterine larvae.
4. During the withdrawal of queens should be bribes; In addition, families that breed the queens should receive honey with pergola.
5. Larvae for the withdrawal of queens should be given at their youngest age, preferably not more than half a day. Studies have shown that milk, to which bees are fed the uterine larvae, is nutritious to milk, which they feed bee larvae. Therefore, the younger the age of the larvae, the data for raising the queens from them, the better.
6. Do not remove the queens in the time that they can not be excreted by natural swarming in a given locality. The best uterus is hatched in the so-called swarm period of the season, during a bribe, with good preparation of families and abundant feeding of bees.
The timing of the withdrawal of the queens should be combined with the best timing of the formation of layers with queen cells or barren uterus. Too early withdrawal of queens (for example, for the Kiev region – in late April and early May), as well as very late (in August) should be avoided. The best terms for the withdrawal of queens for most areas of Ukraine – from mid-May to the first half of July, but always in a bribe.
7. The number of larvae given to uterine upbringing should not be large. The more the family feeds the larval larvae at the same time, the worse they all eat, the more they are later discarded, the worse quality can be the uterus.
During the June and July withdrawal of queens in the conditions of the majority of apiaries of Ukraine, one family should be given no more than 25-30 larvae for feeding, and no more than 20-25 pieces during the May withdrawal of queens.
As a sequence of work on the withdrawal of the queens, they can be divided into three groups: the cultivation of drones necessary for pairing young queens, the cultivation of young (infertile) queens and the production of fetal queens.
Cultivation of drones.
For the fertilization of young barren queen, drones raised in the same season are needed. And as for the development of drones and the achievement of sexual maturity, it takes much longer than for the development of the queens, then the withdrawal of drones must precede the withdrawal of the queens for about 3 weeks. At the time of giving the families of larvae to the uterine cultivation in other specially designated families, there must be a mature printed drone brood.
The families allocated for growing the tartar brood should also be among the most productive, the strongest, well wintered, and in no way inclined to diseases. They should not be related to families that breed the queen.
For the fastest spring development of families that produce drones, the same excellent conditions should be created as for families intended for the withdrawal of queens: it is necessary to organize an over-rundown flight to give fertilizing, to insulate the nest, and so on.
Three weeks before the larvae were given to raise the queens, the families intended for growing drones were supplemented and they were placed in the center of the nest by one frame of non-sushi land, which only had drone cells. In this case, it is desirable to reduce the nest by one two frames and additionally insulate it. If there is no permanent, at least a small bribe, in the future, these families should be fed daily, giving 300-500 g of sugar syrup of medium density to each family per day. Under such conditions, the uterus willingly sows the delivered honeycomb with unfertilized eggs and the bees just as willingly feed the tartar brood.
Approximately for every two or three families that breed the queen, there must be at least one family that grows drones. With the summer withdrawal of drones in each such family, you can put on 2 frames of drone dry land, but no more. It must be remembered that the feeding of the tartar brood requires large bee colonies and increased feed intake from bee colonies. Therefore, such families should periodically inspect and improve their conditions in every possible way. In each day, they should be fed.
In all other families of the apiary the conclusion of drones should be limited in every possible way.
Bee families leave the hibernation strong and in good condition. A few days after the exhibition, the bees are taken out of the winter quarters to the apiary in a grove where many woody, shrubby, and then herbaceous honey plants begin to bloom. Having though a small but continuous bribe of the family of the whole apiary develop well, and by the scheduled time in the nests of the best families of the apiary there is a trolling brood. It remains only to regulate: leave the brood brood in the best families that are not related to those that will breed the queens, and limit it to all other families, which is done. The number of families in which the withdrawal of drones is allowed throughout the whole season, in this case a little more, but each such family is less overloaded with the feeding of drones and participates in honey gathering. Besides,
About the family-educator.
In recent times, the following method has widely spread in practice in the treatment of uterus. Young larvae for the withdrawal of queens are taken from one family and transferred for cultivation to another family, the so-called “family-educator.” Thus, the family withdraws the queens not from its larvae, but from strangers. But since bees are more likely to grow queens from the larvae of their family, to force bees to better accept foreign larvae for uterine growth, the family was deprived not only of the uterus, but also of the open brood, which complicated the work of the beekeeper and reduced the quality of the cultured queens.
Uterus, bred in good conditions and in their (and not in someone else’s) family, can. more persistently transmit to the offspring the valuable properties of this family, which, under appropriate conditions of care and maintenance, ensure high productivity.
Therefore, the way to withdraw the queens in the most highly productive families from the larvae of these same families should be the main one for apiaries, as it facilitates a more rapid improvement in the bulk of bee families of apiaries. More on this, see below, in the chapter “Improving bees.”
However, in a number of cases, especially when a very large number of queens are taken out, as well as with in-depth pedigree work with individual bee families (when the uterus is taken out, mainly, not for replanting to ordinary families of the apiary, but for other best families with whom further work on directed upbringing, selection and consolidation of new qualities) can be applied and a way of a conclusion of queens from larvae not the, and “another’s” family. But even in these cases, we must strive to ensure that the family-educator (that is, the family feeding the larval larvae) was one of the best apiary families in terms of productivity, winter hardiness and resistance to disease. Below is a description of the way to withdraw the queens from the larvae of their own family.
Getting uterine larvae.
Larvae for growing the queens, so they do not search around the nest on the day they are needed, must be prepared in advance. To do this, 4 days before the start of the withdrawal of the queens in the middle of the nest of the designated family, a frame is placed with a quality, well-translucent honeycomb with bee cells.
Before setting the combs, it is necessary to sprinkle abundantly with sugar syrup. After this, it is necessary to shorten the nest somewhat and to insulate it. Under these conditions, the bees will quickly clean the cells of the honeycomb, the uterus will immediately sow, and on the honeycomb in 4 days there will be larvae of the most suitable for withdrawal of the uterus of age. If, for some reason, after 4 days, such larvae on the honeycomb are still not enough (which is very rare), then this honeycomb should be left in the nest of the family for another day, after which it should start withdrawing the queens.
Preparation of a family-educator for the cultivation of uterine larvae in her.
The family that grows the uterine larvae in the artificial extraction of queens, regardless of whether these larvae are from this family or transferred from another, is called a family-educator.
Well-overhimed, highly productive, strong families intended for the withdrawal of queens to them, in the presence of appropriate conditions from early spring (feed reserve, warming, bribes, etc.) are rapidly developing, and by the beginning of spring withdrawal, there are usually 15-18 frames in them, well covered with bees. In such families there are 10-12 frames with brood. But still, in order to ensure the highest quality of the queens, even if there are sufficient supplies of feed and a good bribe, such families need to be further prepared.
This preparation is as follows.
Uterine larvae will be fed mainly by young bees, which must be well prepared for this. Such preparation is promoted to a very large extent by special protein supplementation, namely, the feeding of the family by a honey-pearl mixture.
Medo-perga mixture is prepared in advance from equal parts by weight of non-crystallized honey and perga or pollen. Pergu is most often mined, cutting the youngest pear-comb honeycombs on strips and “shaking out” or “bending” these strips. Do not take old honeycombs, because they have more remains of cocoons and can nest microbes of various diseases. Produced in this way from honeycomb perg thoroughly mixed with honey and stored in a glass bowl until the time of withdrawal of the queens. Pergu in the framework of easy to prepare during the spring pollen bribes: sometimes the frames standing next to the brood, are completely crammed with perga.
Some beekeepers use special pollen collectors, which are placed in the hives of beehives during a profuse supply of pollen. The collected pollen is then used for the honey-pollen mixture.
Sometimes a sugar-permeable mixture is used, which is a mixture of Perga and a thick sugar syrup.
Before feeding as a honey-perga, and sugar-perga mixture is slightly diluted with warm water (to the density of sour cream).
Medo-pergova or sugar-pervasive mixture is recommended to feed bee colonies 6-7 days before larvae are given for uterine upbringing, and continue top dressing until the queen cells are sealed. This feed is given daily or every other day at a rate of 200-300 g per day per family.
When feeding this mixture, spread it with a knife on the outer (covering) cell of the nest after shaking or sweeping away the bees from it.
Bees, trying to clean honeycombs from the smeared mass, are forced to eat abundantly this protein mixture, and accumulate in their body more protein substances, resulting in much more abundant feeding of larval larva with milk, which, in turn, improves the quality of future queens.
In addition to providing special protein supplementation, you need to put the family in such conditions that it is biologically prepared for the withdrawal of the queens. The matter is that the families allocated for the withdrawal of queens, being highly productive and not prone to swarming, are in a working condition for a long time. However, the latest research of scientists in our country has shown that if the families that are in working order suddenly take away the queens, then, being biologically unprepared, they do not feed the larval larvae in sufficient abundantly. Therefore, for three to four days before giving larvae to the uterine education, it is necessary to create such conditions for such families that promote the manifestation of their swarm instinct, with which the ability of bees to improve the lactation of uterine larvae is connected. For this, it is necessary to shorten the nest a little, to additionally insulate, etc.,
On the day of giving larvae to the uterine education, in the morning it is necessary to prepare a nest of this family for the feeding of the larval uterus in it and to take the uterus into a litter organized from this family. Selection of the uterus on the eve of the day of giving the larvae should not be made: the family will be unduly worried and a part of flying bees can scatter along neighboring beehives.
Some authors recommended that when preparing a nest of a bee family assigned to the conclusion of queens, it should also take away all open brood, leaving only the printed brood. However, the latest scientific data from the research institute of beekeeping showed that if in the family-teacher they take away all the open brood, that is, to complete its “pettifogging”, then the bees feed the larvae much worse than in the normal state of the nest when it has brood of all ages. Therefore, the amount of open brood may be reduced while preparing the nest of a family-educator, but it is not necessary to produce complete selection. And there is no great need for this, if the uterus is removed in the same family from which it occurs.
When preparing a family for the withdrawal of queens, starting to select a part of the nest with an old uterus, one more circumstance should be taken into account. This family is usually the most valuable family of apiary. Therefore, by deducing the queens in one part of this deformed family, it is necessary to create good conditions for the other part, that is, for the removal from its old uterus.
From the very first day this batch should be placed in the most favorable conditions, in order to develop again and be a valuable family. Therefore, it must have at least four streets of bees, brood, feed and at least a small number of flying bees. Therefore, selecting the uterus in the brood, it is necessary to form it in one of the ways that are used in the organization of layers with different age bees.
With a sufficiently strong family well-prepared for the withdrawal of the queens, it is enough to breed bees both to ensure a good feeding of the uterine larvae, and to arrange the removal of the old uterus.
In the family-teacher there are approximately 9-10 frames (including the one on which the prepared larvae are located), very densely (thicker than usual), surrounded by bees, including 6-8 frames mostly with printed brood; However, you should have a little open brood. In the nest should be at least two frames of perga and 6-8 kg of honey.
In the brood with a caged uterus, 4-5 frames are given, including 2-3 frames with brood, mostly open. In the layer, bees must be of all ages.
The rest of the frames can be temporarily exposed from the hives and then used to expand the nest of the hatch. On the same day, 3-6 hours after the selection of the uterus and the formation of a lining with it, larvae for growing the queens are prepared for the nest of the family prepared for the withdrawal of the queens
Methods of preparing larvae for uterine upbringing
Methods of preparing larvae given to uterine, upbringing, there are several. Of these, the following methods have the highest value for apiaries.
A fairly common way of preparing the larvae for giving them to the uterine education is that the honeycomb with young larvae that are necessary for the removal of the queens is removed from the nest, separate strips of the most suitable larvae are cut from the nest with a sharp knife and attached to another empty, stable honeycomb.
Fig. From a honeycomb with young larvae, a narrow band is cut across the entire width of the frame.
This work should be done in a warm room at a temperature of 25-30 њ C, so as not to cool the larvae and quickly enough to not dry the milk.
Fig. The honeycomb with bee larvae is trimmed below by 1/4 of the height of the frame, and above the middle of the honeycomb is a horizontal slot.
To the cropped cell and to the top of the cut out “window”, the strips with the cells are fixed with molten wax so that the truncated cells with the larvae face downward.
After that, a honeycomb with attached strips of honeycomb prepared in the cells of the larvae is placed in the middle of the nest of the family for the withdrawal of the queens, and the honeycomb with the brood, from which the strips were cut, is placed in the brood with the uterus of this family.
The disadvantage of the described method is that the mothers in the future, for use have to be cut and some of them can be damaged. In addition, such carved with a “stock” honeycomb queen is less convenient to use. since they do not enter the hole of standard uterine cells. Significantly better and quite applicable in conditions of apiaries are the ways to prepare larvae for uterine upbringing.
In a honeycomb with young larvae, strips with cells with the best larvae are cut out, but later these strips are cut into separate cells. In each such cell with the youngest, barely noticeable larva, the walls are cut by 7r-2/3 heights. It is necessary to watch and that near the cut out cell both from one, and the other side, there were no other larvae or eggs.
Fig. A cut strip of honeycomb with larvae on the bottom of the cells.
If the cells with the larvae attach to the wedges, then such wedges are stuck in the dark (the old honeycomb so that the cells with the larvae are turned downwards and are 0.5 cm from the honeycomb (if they are closer, the bees can glue them to the honeycomb ) A honeycomb with sticks inserted into it with cells and larvae located in them is placed in the middle of the nest of a trained family-educator.
Fig. Wooden wedges, to which are attached cells with larvae prepared for uterine upbringing.
It should be ensured that the distance between any attached cell to the wedge and the neighboring cell is also not less than 0.5 cm.
This way, being better than the former, is also not devoid of some shortcomings. In the center of the nest of the family, after setting up a honeycomb with wedges, unnaturally broad, almost twice as wide as normal, one or two small streets. In addition, the presence in the nest of the most valuable family of the old, dark honeycomb, which is essentially subject to culling, is extremely undesirable for hygienic reasons.
Fig. Wooden plugs. On the right, a cell with a larva, cut at half its height, is glued to the stopper.
Therefore, it is much better, more convenient and more hygienic to prepare for the uterine upbringing of the larvae in the cells attached to the blocks (plugs). The boxes, after attaching cells to the larvae, are attached to the two transverse slats of the empty frame. One of these bars is placed approximately in the middle of the frame, and the other is closer to the upper bar. Empty gaps in such a frame, which will not be used in the detuning of the queen cells, must be filled with strips of a good honeycomb, which creates better conditions in the nest when servicing the larvae. A frame with attached brusochkami and larvae prepared for uterine upbringing, also placed in the center of the nest.
Fig. Mothers on wedges stuck in a honeycomb.
After staging larvae for uterine upbringing, the family should be fed, then close the nest and, in accordance with the weather conditions, insulate. Summer should be shortened. All work on the preparation of larvae and their placement in the family must be done accurately and quickly. The less time the larvae is out of the nest, the better they will be taken by the bees to the uterine upbringing.
In addition to the ways of preparing larvae for uterine upbringing, there are others. So, on the large, well-equipped apiaries of mother-hatchery farms, the method “with transfer of larvae” is widely used. It consists in the fact that larvae for uterine upbringing are not given in the cells in which they were born, but are transferred to other cells, artificially made of wax, wider “shaped like a bowl.
The transfer is made using a spatula, which looks like a piece of wire with a slightly flattened end; Sometimes a spatula is made from the stem of a bird’s feather, whose tip is sharpened and slightly bent. Before transferring the larvae to the bottom of the bowl, put a little milk. Together with the transferred larva, they try to grab more larval forage. Transferring larvae into bowls on a small drop of honey, as it was sometimes recommended, is completely unacceptable.
It should be noted that the existing methods for the withdrawal of queens can be significantly improved, which will allow getting queens of even higher quality. So, for example, if the uterine larvae are not located in one street, but in several, more bees can take part in feeding the uterine larvae, the larvae will be more abundantly supplied with food and develop faster.
Fig. An empty frame in which removable plugs with uterine larvae are strengthened.
According to available data, the appropriate selection of protein feed (pollen) for bees raising queens can also significantly improve the quality of cultured queens.
It should be mentioned that at present other methods of artificial withdrawal of queens are being developed, based not on the property of bees to withdraw fistulous (“emergency”) queens in sudden loss of the uterus, but on their ability to excrete swarms at a time when the family, under appropriate environmental conditions to this is prepared by the whole course of its development.
Care of the family-educator.
The next day after giving larvae to the uterine upbringing, the family-educator should be fed with honey-pear mixture and examined to find out how she received the larvae. At this time it is already clear which larvae are taken by the bees to grow them from queens. If, for some reason, larvae are not enough for uterine upbringing by bees, then it is necessary, “to find the reason for this and, after eliminating it, to give a few more larvae.” The queen cells, which are not based on the larvae given by the beekeeper, but on other honeycombs (there are usually few of them) it is better to remove them, since the age of the larvae on which they are laid is unknown, and in addition, these queen cells can distract the bees from the larvae fed to the mother for breeding.
Further care for the family consists in regular (preferably daily) feeding of honey-pearl or sugar-pearl blend, and in case of sudden termination of the bribe – and sugar syrup or honey.
Four days after giving the larvae, the queen mothers should be examined again in order to determine their quality. In this case it should be noted which queen cells are already sealed and which are prepared for sealing. If the larvae were given strictly age-old, then usually those larvae that eat better, develop faster, before others are sealed by bees and out of them come out more full-fledged uterus. Mothers with larvae lagging behind in development should be removed.
9 days after the grafting of the larvae, the queen cells are again inspected. In this case, all small, curved, irregular shapes are rejected, and too long. Accordingly, the available number of good queen cells
The plan of their use is specified. If it is planned to use not only queen cells but also barren queen for distributing to families, layers or nucleuses, then a part of the queen cells for this purpose can be placed in squares; The latter are then strengthened in a common uterine frame, which is left in the same hive until the exit of the queens. In such cells are pre-laid food (honey) and they are admitted to 5-6 bees, after which it is placed one by one
Mother cell. On the same day, nucleuses are formed – small families, in which young uteri will be placed before fertilization and the beginning of egg laying.
Use of queen cells and nucleation.
Received queen cells can be used in different ways. One part of the queen cells can be taken to replace old or defective uterus.
When replacing the old uterus with a mother liquor, the following method is most often used.
On the eve of giving a queen mother, they find an old uterus in the family and remove it from the nest. The bees of this family, feeling “orphaned”, begin to rebuild the queen cells with their larvae. The next day they are given a prepared mature matchin in the nest, which is usually taken by bees. One day before the exit of the uterus from the supplied mother liquor, the remaining mother liquors laid by the family are removed. A young uterus is removed from the mother liquor, which is fertilized after about 7-10 days, and soon begins to lay eggs.
With this change of queens, three main goals are achieved:
1.In the place of the old uterus in the family will be a new, young, able to develop high egg production with the autumn build-up of bees, and also in the next two seasons.
2. The duration of the bezmatoma period of the bee family is reduced, in which the uterus is changed.
3. Usually a mother or a queen is given from another, more valuable family, so the family into which the uterus is planted can later improve somewhat qualitatively and, under proper conditions, can give higher productivity.
Part of the queen cells can be used to form the layers. In this case, they can be given either in layers if the uterus is left in the main families, or in the main families, if the layers are organized with the old uterus of these families. In the latter case, the methods of giving mothers to families are basically the same as with the change of queens.
Breedings formed with bees of different ages, queen cells are also given on the next day after the organization of the layers or the evening of the same day, but not earlier than 6 hours after the formation of the layer. When distributing the queen cells, it is necessary to make sure that they do not acquire an outsider smell. Therefore, when distributing the queen cells, the hands of the beekeeper must be washed thoroughly. Take the mother-pot only for the wooden base to which it is attached, that is, for a wedge or cork; when giving the mother liquor to the nest of the family or the lap, the wooden parts to which it is attached and for which the beekeeper took the hands, should be smeared with the honey of the family to which the mother liquor is given.
Sometimes the layers are made not with queen cells, but with barren uterus. The use of barren uterus for this purpose has advantages over the use of queen cells: it is possible to give out only large, long, well-developed young queens. Small (small and short) uterus can be easily rejected at the first inspection. If we give queen cells, then there are cases that the uterus out of large, good-looking queen cells does not appear large enough, and the lighter the uterus and the shorter their abdomen, the worse they are in quality.
However, in the formation of layers, barren uterus is used less often than queen cells, because they are worse taken by bees. At the same time, infertile uterus is taken worse than they are older in age. Young, freshly issued from the queen cells are much more readily accepted than uterus at the age of 3-5 or more days. This is because the infertile uteri that have lived in the cells for several days, due to abnormal conditions of nutrition and lack of proper care of them by the bees, deteriorate qualitatively. Bees also have an instinct that allows them to determine the quality of the queens, and bad young queens are usually taken worse than good ones. Therefore, in all cases of distribution to the layers of barren uterus, care must be taken to ensure that they are of the youngest age and of good quality.
Unfertile uterus is distributed to families or layers; using uterine cells, but in all cases the replanting is more successful if you use a large metal cap.
Part of the queen cells is used in the organization of cores; that is, in this case, small seeds, formed for the temporary maintenance of the queens in them, usually until they become fetal.
The methods of forming nucleuses are essentially the same as the layers, the difference is only in the size of the seeds. Nucleus, usually, is less than the cutoff. It consists mainly of three frames, well covered with bees. The two covering frames of the nucleus are fodder (with honey and perga) and one, medium, with mature printed brood and partly with food. Two-core nucleuses in the conditions of Ukraine can be formed only when they are placed several in one hive or are located next to the main family.
In nucleuses, as in the layers, bees must also be of different age. The advantages of such nucleuses in front of families with only young non-flying bees are very large. Basically, these advantages are the same as those described when considering the issue of the formation of layers. But there is another important reason why nucleuses should have bees of different age and be provided with all other good conditions.
The matter is that the genitals of the uterus, especially its ovaries, develop and form mainly in the first week of life of the uterus, after it leaves the mother liquor. If during this period the uterus will be in good conditions, then its genital organs will be properly developed. If the conditions of her life are poor (a weak family, the absence of flying bees, etc.), the development of the genitals of the uterus lingers and the quality of the uterus worsens. Therefore, the formation of nucleuses and the maintenance of queens in them should be given special attention.
When the nuclei are located next to the main families (as the beekeepers say, in the “pockets” of the hives-lounges), care must be taken to ensure that there is not the slightest gap between the separated nucleus and the part of the hive occupied by the main family. If there are such cracks, then through them the bees can feel the closeness of their old uterus, and in this case a young uterus, emerging from the queen cell, can be killed. Therefore, all the cracks under the partition, along its sides, etc., must be carefully covered with clay. Some beekeepers, with the same purpose at the septum, from the main family, temporarily put straw mat, which is removed only after the young womb of the nucleus becomes fetal and begins to lay eggs.
Nuclei are usually distributed one mature mother plant, placing them closer to the center or in the center of the nest (here it is always warmer than on the edge of the nest).
Nuclei, as well as layers, should not be made prefabricated. It is better to make them individual, that is, each batch to take from one family. From lagging behind in development and low-productivity families, as well as from families with other shortcomings, neither bees nor broods should be used to organize nucleuses.
It should be borne in mind that, in the conditions of most apiaries, the most valuable nucleuses will be those that come entirely from the best families, that is, the bees, brood and uterus of which will come from the same highly productive family and will be grown in the best conditions. Such nucleuses can later turn into layers, and then into families that have, to a large extent, the same most valuable qualities that a parent family has, and these qualities will be more persistently transmitted to new generations of bees.
Therefore, the family-educator, after the withdrawal of the queens in it, must necessarily be used for the formation of nucleuses from it. At the same time, the family-educator who raised her uterine larvae can be turned into 3-4 nuclei, each of which must have bees of different age.
The division of this family into nucleuses is done by the methods used in the formation of layers with different ages of bees. The method that is most convenient and beneficial for use in each individual case must be outlined in advance, and everything necessary must be prepared in a timely manner.
When a family separating the queen is divided into nucleuses, one mother liquor is given to each part of such a family. If there are superfluous good queen cells, then in each such nucleus you can leave 2 queen cells.
In this case, they are both placed in separate cells of the cell. In the stern compartment of the cell is put honey. In each cell with a mother liquor, 5-6 bees are allowed in. In the future, it is necessary to monitor the output of the queens and leave a larger, better one in the nucleus. In most cases, the uterus leaves the mother liquor first. The second uterus is removed.
Hives with nuclei should be located so that the uterus, flying out on the fly, they were able to easily find them. Most often, cores are located in the front rows of beehive hives. But this is not always possible, since some of the cores are located in the “pockets” of the hives of the main families, located in different places of the hog point among other hives.
In this case, we need to help the flying mats to find their hives. For this it is necessary to note them somehow, that they stand out sharply among all others, especially the neighboring hives. This is achieved in many ways. In some cases, a branch is stuck near the hive, if there is no other landmark nearby; in others – the hive is slightly advanced from the row or slightly turned to the side; in the third – change the color of the hive roofs by putting straw mats on them or attaching branches; in the fourth – a piece of plywood or cardboard with a size of at least 20 X 30 cm, painted in bright colors: blue, blue, yellow or white, is nailed over a taphole of a beehive-nucleus, selecting such that it is most prominent among the other apiary beehives, and the other is the same a piece of plywood or cardboard is attached to the hive cover, etc.
Of great importance in this case is also the arrangement of the hives on the apiary; the best is the group arrangement – 2-3 hives per group, with different intervals between groups, with reference to the terrain. When hives are arranged strictly in rows or in staggered order, as well as in cases where the hives are densely distributed, they have the same color and there are no landmarks on the apiary, the loss of queens during their flying can reach large sizes. If we take this into account and help the uterus make it easier to distinguish its beehive among others in local subjects, in color, in the direction of the tap, etc., then the loss of queens during orientation and marriage departures will be negligible.
If the layers or nucleuses are formed with barren uteri, then when distributing them to the queens, it is better to do so. Available in the cells of barren uterus in the amount of 10-12 pieces are placed in the uterine frame and together with this frame for some time (for 5-7 minutes) are put in the best brood or nucleus. Bees of the family, having the instinct of determining the quality of the queens, will show unequal treatment for each of the queens located in the cages. One will be treated well, that is, in a small amount on the cell, walking with raised abdomen following the uterus, as if offering her food through a grid of cells; to others – to be indifferent; to the third – hostile – tightly cage the cells and, as it were, try to sting or “choke” the queens. In the layer or nucleus, it is necessary to leave the uterus to which the relation of the bees is the best,
Data in this way should be released from the cells or from the nuclei of the uterus from the cells or from under large caps after 6-12 hours.
Caring for cores.
Nuclei are usually examined the next day after giving them mothers or queens. At the same time, they check whether the queen cells are intact, whether there are enough bees, etc. If any shortcomings are noticed, they are corrected.
Inspection of cores, layers or families with barren uterus should be done either in the mornings (before 9 o’clock), or in the evening (from 5-6 pm), so that the uterus can not fly off. Inspections should be done carefully, if possible – without smoke. In impotent days, when it is possible to attack bees, inspections should be avoided.
The second inspection of cores is performed 4 to 5 days after their formation. If from some queen for some reason the uterus did not leave, it is removed, and the nucleus is given a barren uterus. By this time, from the framework in which there was a mature printed brood, in the main already bees were removed. Such a frame should preferably be replaced by another frame that has an open brood. The frame for the exchange is best taken from a family related to the given nucleus: it is most desirable to take it from the maternal family.
This frame with an open brood may also be a control one: if the uterus is lost during the flight, the bees will enclose queen cells on this honeycomb. If this happens, then one should not allow the uterus to be removed in the nucleus, since they can not be full. The nucleus, in which there was no uterus, must be attached to the family from which it occurs, or to a related (by the origin of bees) the same nucleus. At the same time, it is necessary to take appropriate precautions so that when joining there is no “fight” between bees.
Approximately 10 days after the exit of the queens from the queen cells, the duculae are examined for the third time to see if the uterus is fertilized. If the uterus starts laying eggs, then such a nucleus is desirable to be reinforced by the maternal family and to create the proper conditions for its rapid further development.
If the uterus is still barren, then within 5 days the nucleus is examined again.
Under good weather conditions and the presence of drones in the apiary, every normal uterus should become fertile in two weeks of its life. If under all favorable conditions in some cores there are uterus not fertilized during this time, then they must be rejected, and such nucleuses should be attached to the parent families or related nucleuses.
It should be remembered that the stronger the family, the faster the uterus starts laying eggs.
In the future, the use of cores may be different. Part of them, especially the early ones, should be turned into layers or into families with spare fertile uteri. The uterus of the other part of the cores can be used to change the queens of the main families of the apiary, etc. But the most valuable cores formed from the family that led the queens must necessarily be turned into layers and then into the main families. This is one of the important ways of improving the quality of bee colonies and increasing the productivity of apiaries.
Change of queens.
Although the uterus can live up to 5 years, and in some cases even more, but intensively it lays eggs, only the first 2 seasons. Therefore, almost every uterus should be replaced in such a way that it was in the hive for no more than 2 years. Practically the calculation is as follows. This year should be replaced by the uterus that was born in the year before last. Only very valuable uterus can be used on the apiary for another season.
It is understandable that the queens, who for some reason become invalid or poorly laying eggs, must be changed, regardless of their age, at the first opportunity.
When changing the queens, one must adhere to the proposition that the uterus is an integral part of this family, to a certain extent biologically related to it. Therefore, in the best, most highly productive families, one should not aimlessly replace the uterus of this family with a uterus from another, less productive family. If this is not taken into account, then sometimes you can lose a good family, as it can go to the average in productivity. Conversely, if in the most highly productive family the old uterus is replaced with a young one, raised in good conditions in the same family and from its own larvae, then the high productivity of this family in the future will not only not decrease, but in many cases will tend to increase. That is why one must adhere to such a rule that the best families, bringing out the queens for others, the rank and file by the productivity of families,
In families with lower productivity, with the change of queens, it is possible and should be given the queens from other families, if these uterus are brought up in good conditions, come from the best families. Only in this case such uterus can be improved, that is, to increase the productivity of families, in which these queens will be planted.
In connection with the fact that the withdrawal of queens for the replacement of old queens can be occupied by a significant number of families, great importance is the correct timing for this conclusion.
Depending on the local conditions in which the apiary is located, this time may be different. However, in all cases, one must proceed from the following: 1. to produce the queens only during a bribe, since the uterus withdrawn in the impotent period is of a very poor quality;
2.for the withdrawal of the queens, choose the time that will be least reflected in the honey collection of families engaged in the withdrawal of queens.
We give an example of the correct timing for such a withdrawal of queens.
Where the main bribe is from buckwheat, the beekeepers conduct a massive withdrawal of the queens (for changing old queens and for cores going to wintering with spare uterus) at the beginning of the main bribe. The following goals are achieved.
First, the uterus is the most valuable, since the uterine larvae are fed when the feed is abundant in the hive.
Secondly, pairing of young queens occurs at a time when the apiary has a large number of good, abundantly fed by bees drones.
Third, families that breed the queen are able to use the honey collector to a considerable extent.
Breeded and become pregnant, the uterus is of great value to the apiary. Therefore, we must be able to properly make their replanting, so that they were accepted by the family.
Podsadka of the queens.
There are a lot of ways of replanting the queens. But the success of the implantation of the uterus and its acceptance by the family depends not only on the method of replanting, but also on many other causes.
First of all, bees always take a fetus better than a barren uterus. Therefore, changing the barren uterus to the fetus is almost always successful.
The replacement of the old fetus with a young fetus is also successful in most cases, especially when the young fetus is grown in the best conditions, well developed and large. The higher the quality of the uterus, the more willing it will be taken by the bees.
The unfertile mares of the family are very reluctant. Bees often kill them, and they withdraw their own uterus, using for this purpose young bee larvae in the nest. Therefore, the replacement of the fetus by the barren is very rarely used.
The success of the uterine ligation is greatly influenced by environmental conditions. If there is good weather and there are bribes, then the bees are busy picking nectar and processing it into honey, and therefore changing one uterus to another is more successful. On the contrary, if there is no bribe, then the bees are very reluctant to accept someone else’s uterus instead of their own.
When changing the queens, it is always felt that families are more likely to withdraw their queens than to accept strangers. Sometimes the uterus is accepted by the family as if temporarily, while in the nest appears brood (if it was not), but then it is replaced by bees themselves.
If there are bees in the nest of queen bees, they usually do not accept queens.
If the family is in a very calm state, the reception of the implanted queens is more successful.
Much depends on how the uterus is planted and how it behaves in the family.
If the new uterus, hitting the nest, runs quickly, as if hiding from bees, then it can be killed by bees. Calm uteruses are more successfully accepted by bees.
Of the practical methods of replanting the queens most widely used are the following.
Uterine pacing with the help of Titov cells or other structure. The old uterus is selected, and the new one is given in a cage and supplied with food. The cell is placed between the frames. After 12 hours or a day later, the cells are examined and the behavior of the bees is judged whether they took the uterus or not. If accepted, the uterus is released, or, better, the bees are allowed to release it. To do this, the lower opening of the cell is opened and covered with a strip of artificial honeycomb in one layer. The bees gnaw the wax and release the uterus.
The disadvantage of this method is that the uterus is the first time in a strange family in abnormal conditions: being fetal, it is not able to lay eggs. Meanwhile, it is the uterus laying eggs that are most easily accepted by the family.
The transfer of the queens directly to the honeycomb. This method is very simple: they find an old uterus on a honeycomb, take it out during the strong summer of bees, and a young fetus uterus is released into its place. The most successful way to apply this method in the presence of a good bribe.
Podsadka of the queens through the ice. This method is used by many beekeepers. Usually they do it this way. First, the old uterus is selected and after 6-12 hours (by the evening of the same day) a young uterus is let out through the flask, previously easily lubricated with honey of the same family. In many cases, the reception is quite successful.
Podsadka of queens with the help of a large cap. Currently, this method, recommended by the Institute of Apiculture, is used by many beekeepers, rightly considering it to be the best. In this case, the uterus starts directly on the honeycomb necessarily having food and empty cells where it could lay eggs, and together with several dozen bees is covered by a large metal cap. The frame with the uterus under the cap is put back into the nest. Under these conditions, the uterus does not stop laying eggs and, therefore, is most successfully accepted by bees.
In all cases when the uterus is not accepted by the bees, you should carefully inspect the nest of the family, eliminate the cause (it is possible that the mother has queen cells or the second uterus, etc.), feed the family well and only after that give another uterus.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)Reproduction of bee colonies